General Discussion (Model Railroader)

I know this question probably has been asked before.

Why aren't there any forums that strictly deal with topics for a particular GAUGE (O, HO, N, Z, etc.) ?

I think this work better.  I have noticed that sites with forums for each scale generally don't have as much participation.  Most threads under general discussion are applicable to more than one scale anyway.  I belong to a couple of Yahoo groups for S scale specific topics, but frankly this forum is more interesting and has more going on.

Enjoy

Paul 

It would be nice to have 2 sub forums for the 2 most popular scales HO & N...This system works quite well on some forums depending on the number of N Scale  members.

The 2 most popular model railroad forums is this one and the Atlas forum and in that light I see no reason why a N Scale sub forum wouldn't work here..

The main (actually minor) heartburn I have with the idea of segregating the scales is that there is a lot of useful crossfeed here between individuals who don't model in the same scale.

My major heartburn is personal - Mark Newton and I would be awfully lonesome as posters on a 1:80 scale forum...

Chuck (modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)

It is the established culture here that we have O gauge using its own forum (Classic Toy Trains), and the rest on this one.  They have their unique topics and issues over there, and we seem to get along nicely with all the interrelated banter and exchange of ideas that are generalizable among the other smaller scales.

In short, it works well for those of us who spend a lot of time here, and we have come to appreciate the generalizations inherent in the various topics.

-Crandell

IRONROOSTER:

I think this work(s) better.  I have noticed that sites with forums for each scale generally don't have as much participation.  Most threads under general discussion are applicable to more than one scale anyway.  I belong to a couple of Yahoo groups for S scale specific topics, but frankly this forum is more interesting and has more going on.

Enjoy

Paul 

Yes, indeed!  When I was a teenager and young adult, the old-time "O-gaugers" used to complain bitterly about HO scale articles, etc, in MR, and it never made sense to me.  All it takes is a scale rule---or several, if you didn't have one of those stainless steel multi-scale jobs---to convert any scale drawing to any other scale.  Of course, many articles in the early years used English inches and fractions to dimension drawings, which complicated things, but later MR and RMC converted all drawing dimensions to prototype feet and inches, so there was little excuse for ignoring any drawings not reproduced in your favorite scale.  I, like many, many others, always pored over every article that interested me, as well as photos and ads, to pick up as many tips and construction kinks as possible.

The latter holds true of this forum!  I subscribe to 48/ft., O Scale News for scale specific information, but unlike some guys, who insulate themselves from other scales, I like this "cross-pollination" of ideas.  Like a pretty dog of any breed, a good-looking model in any scale is just as good-looking!  And some kink a guy uses to build HO models probably will work just as well in O, N, or Z scale.  I've learned a lot of things from other members of this forum, regardless of scale, that I might've---heck, would've---missed if I stuck to an O scale forum, if there is such a thing.  I also hope my contributions have helped other members in return.

 Not sure how much good that will do. Already people are putting electrical and DCC  questions in a couple other forums. Yes, I know we will hear  justification. I have to confess, I suported this by answering the electrical question that was not in the electrical forum. Some people just like to do their own thing or do not pay attention to where they are. This happens sometimes in forums other than trains.com also.

Rich

selector:

It is the established culture here that we have O gauge using its own forum (Classic Toy Trains), and the rest on this one.  They have their unique topics and issues over there, and we seem to get along nicely with all the interrelated banter and exchange of ideas that are generalizable among the other smaller scales.

In short, it works well for those of us who spend a lot of time here, and we have come to appreciate the generalizations inherent in the various topics.

-Crandell

I can not speak for all non-HO scales, but I can say for a fact that N-scalers do not use this forum nearly as much as they use other forums that do offer scale specific posting, and I say this as someone who enjoys this forum immensely and posts frequently. Earlier this year I went looking for more N-scale specific information and was shocked--I always thought "everyone" posted here and that there just were not that many N-scalers posting. However, the other forums I found have an incredible amount of N-scale traffic.

For example, not quite 24 hours ago I posted about Atlas's announcement of a new Dash-8 wide cab model in N-scale with operating ditch lights. This is causing a major buzz in the N-scale world and is being hotly discussed on other forums. However, my post on here received just one reply and is now sitting at the bottom of page three with nary a view.

I pretty much do all of my N-specific posting elsewhere and all of my general posting here. This is not a complaint, as I really enjoy all forums I participate in; I just visit them for different reasons.

Jamie

BobAwde:

I know this question probably has been asked before. Why aren't there any forums that strictly deal with topics for a particular GAUGE (O, HO, N, Z, etc.)?

My opinion is that there aren't enough topics and users for that much segmentation.  The scale specific stuff like how to I fix a cracked gear in an Atlas HO RS3, gets one or two posts that answer the question and it is dead.  The interesting threads about model railroading in general are scale independent and can go on for pages and pages.

I fear that segmentation by scale would take some of those interesting threads off into HO or N land.  Sort of like the trains.com forum grabs stuff that should be here or in trains.   I for one don't want to have to sort through multiple forums trying to find interesting threads to read and contribute too.

Even scale specific stuff in the "How I modified brand xyz model X into model X2" can contain principles that can be applied to all scales. 

tomikawaTT:

My major heartburn is personal - Mark Newton and I would be awfully lonesome as posters on a 1:80 scale forum...

LOL!

You're right of course, Chuck - who would I have to argue with?

Cheers,

Mark

There are plenty of arguments for and against, but I would point out that there are specific issues and problems for the smaller scales that don't apply to HO and bigger.

Having a small scale sub-forum ( N and smaller ), would be a place to keep and exchange such information without having to wade through thousands of other posts that would not apply. 

E-Bay is a good example of why it would never work -- people are always posting items in the wrong scale area, just as users here post in the wrong topic area all the time; i.e., an electronics question posted in the Train Magazine forum General Discussion.

cacole:

E-Bay is a good example of why it would never work -- people are always posting items in the wrong scale area, just as users here post in the wrong topic area all the time; i.e., an electronics question posted in the Train Magazine forum General Discussion.

Bad example.

In the case of e-bay, people are doing that on purpose, to give their product more exposure - when you get down to it, it is e-bays fault for that as they tell people to do things to give their product more exposure as it's more likly to sell at a higher price and hence e-bay makes more money.

Nothing wrong with a electronics question in General Discusion - it's not like General Discusion is for any one particular topic.   Further, if the mods don't make a issue of it, then it is alowed.   

It's not like we would be disalowing talk about HO scale stuff in a small scale sub-forum ( and like an electronics question in the General Discusion forum, the question would be answered and someone would probably point out that better information could be had from one of the other sub-forum )

Greg H.:

cacole:

E-Bay is a good example of why it would never work -- people are always posting items in the wrong scale area, just as users here post in the wrong topic area all the time; i.e., an electronics question posted in the Train Magazine forum General Discussion.

Bad example.

In the case of e-bay, people are doing that on purpose, to give their product more exposure - when you get down to it, it is e-bays fault for that as they tell people to do things to give their product more exposure as it's more likly to sell at a higher price and hence e-bay makes more money.

Nothing wrong with a electronics question in General Discusion - it's not like General Discusion is for any one particular topic.   Further, if the mods don't make a issue of it, then it is alowed.   

It's not like we would be disalowing talk about HO scale stuff in a small scale sub-forum ( and like an electronics question in the General Discusion forum, the question would be answered and someone would probably point out that better information could be had from one of the other sub-forum )

I won't say it doesn't happen on purpose in some cases for some areas, but I have a hard time believing that someone posts their Lionel or HO item in the S scale section to get more exposure.  

Enjoy

Paul 

While I think it would be better if there were scale specific forums, I can definitley say that not having them does not keep me away from poting in the topics available here. In fact, in general I like to use the "other guys" for the scale specifc stuff and the MR forums for the more general (though not less important) topics. Hey, all this stuff is free anyway, right? Jamie